HSC to be rebranded Carphone Warehouse Business in June

HSC to be rebranded as Carphone Warehouse Business on June 1 in a move that will give the retailer the widest reach in the UK B2B market under a single brand

HSC is to be rebranded as Carphone Warehouse Business (CPWB) on June 1, the two companies have confirmed.

The decision comes seven years after CPW paid £6 million for HSC (then called Hugh Symons Communications) in December 2005.

On completion CPW will have the biggest reach in the UK B2B market under a single brand.

HSC business manager Bob Sweetlove (pictured right) told Mobile News: “We are planning to rebrand the indirect business with effect from June 1. It is an exciting step for us and one we are really looking forward to.

“We are confident that all our partners will benefit from a greater alignment with Carphone Warehouse.”

Details on the rebrand have not yet been disclosed, but it is understood HSC’s current head office in Poole will be unaffected and will act as the hub for all CPW business, with no impact on its 50 plus staff.

CPW chief commercial officer Graham Stapleton has spoken openly of his desire for the firm to become a major force in B2B.

HSC serves around 75 per cent of the UK dealer market (750 dealers) and has annual connections of around 60,000 – primarily to O2, Orange and T-Mobile.

CPW launched its B2B business last July with its ‘Open for Business’ campaign and the launch of a new dedicated website.

CPW staff have since begun to sell business connections across its 800 plus retail estate.

CPW says it can offer the widest range of handsets and accessories to the B2B market.

It also offers a full list of networks, which will likely see HSC’s current dealer base able to connect Vodafone for the first time since 2006, when its dealer code was cancelled.

CPW also offers a network price guarantee, insisting it won’t be beaten, as well as customer repair services in stores – something which could be extended to HSC’s dealer base.

Stapleton originally stated last year CPW had no plans to rebrand HSC. But speculation escalated in December, when Sweetlove and Carphone Warehouse group business director Paul Layte (pictured left) told Mobile News a change could happen this year.

Layte also apologised publicly to HSC’s dealers, admitting CPW had failed to support HSC in previous years – something it was keen to change in 2012.

Mobile News will have an exclusive interview with Bob Sweetlove and Paul Layte on the rebrand in issue 515, out on May 28. To subscribe, call 020 8950 9117.